Naughty Cats And Brussels Sprout Brats: 5 Ads You Should Watch Right Now

After a week watching the best (and worst) video advertisements on the net, we’ve picked the five essential ones to watch so you can enjoy your weekend.

In this week’s round-up, we have Michael Bolton in a cupboard, a naughty cat and yet more hype for ‘Stars Wars: The Force Awakens’.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

5. Sky Movies – ‘Christmas’

As each brand tries its darndest to take a lead in the Christmas advertising rush, one thing becomes very clear: you need to find your niche. John Lewis and Sainsbury’s create big-budget heart-warmers, Burberry produces gold-leafed decadence and Sky Movies…well, Sky Movies talks about movies, mostly.

After all, a film after Christmas lunch has been more or less cemented into the festive ritual, so there’s plenty of material to mine. This year’s spot stars a young girl, singularly adamant about not eating her sprouts, who escapes into a fantasy world featuring characters from ‘Cinderella’, ‘Night At The Museum’, ‘Big Hero 6’ and ‘The Avengers’.

That’s one way to avoid eating your veg.

4. Pizza Hut – ‘Triple Treat Box’

Speaking of which, Pizza Hut has just released perhaps the most Pizza Hut Christmas ad possible. Apart from this, of course.

To get the full effect, you need to understand the mechanics behind the brand’s new promotion, the leviathan-sized Triple Treat Box. Shaped like a massive DVD box set, except filled with dough, cheese and cookies, the Triple Treat Box is seemingly the conveyance of choice for the ideal Pizza Hut Christmas.

Add to this festival of excess a hungry reindeer, some go-go dancers and Michael Bolton hiding in the cupboard, and there you have it. A very Merry Christmas indeed.

3. Saucony – ‘Seeker Stories: The Oatmeal’

Let’s take a step back from festivities for a moment to consider something almost none of us do on Christmas Day: go for a run.

Sneaker brand Saucony’s latest campaign, ‘Seeker Stories’, interviews interesting, creative people who also happen to enjoy squeezing on lycra and pounding the pavement. Its latest featuring Matthew Inman, best known from webcomic, The Oatmeal, is particularly enjoyable, as the ad guides us through his relationship to running and his personal history (including the time his house burnt down).

Inman’s laconic sense of humour and whimsical cartooning complement Saucony’s series perfectly, and we’ll definitely be looking out for what the brand does next.

2. Duracell – ‘Battle For Christmas Morning’

What’s the only thing getting children (of all ages) more hyped up than Christmas? That’s right, it’s the overdue return of Star Wars!

As culture nudges ever closer to the film’s December release, like a tiny dinghy approaching the lip of Niagara Falls, the ad world has been ramping up the Jedi-related fun. First, Sony got in on the action, and now Duracell has joined in too, with the joyfully kid-friendly ‘Battle For Christmas Morning’.

As a pair of presumably sugar-high kids dance about the house with toy lightsabers, the only thing detracting from the realism of the scene is the fact that no televisions or vases are broken.

1. Sainsbury’s – ‘Mog’s Christmas Calamity’

Oh Mog, have you just won Christmas for Sainsbury’s? It’s certainly possible, with a fun, heart-warming ad that will appeal to both the young and the old.

This year’s commercial is certainly a bold departure from last year’s sombre tone. Once again tying its campaign to a good cause (on this occasion, Save the Children, which is hoping to improve child literacy across the UK under its Read On, Get On initiative), like many brands this year, Sainsbury’s has decided to take a much more light-hearted approach to its festive message.

Using beloved children’s author Judith Kerr to write the story, instead Sainsbury’s has been smart and stuck with a great piece of storytelling, wisely leaving the tears to John Lewis.

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